While the Carmelo Anthony drama drags on, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical shared a tidbit on exactly why the Boston Celtics apparently are quite disinterested in dealing for the New York Knicks star.
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Buried at the bottom of the story, Woj noted their only interest has been in dealing for Jimmy Butler (Boston has been talking a Butler trade since June) and Paul George (wait, what?!):
"Boston's shown minimal interest in Anthony, preferring to continue its pursuit of persuading Chicago (Jimmy Butler) and Indiana (Paul George) to engage in trade talks that involve two younger, more well-rounded stars."
Butler's name has been floated here and there over the last few months as the Chicago Bulls collapse on themselves. Paul George is a bit of a stunner, but obviously this doesn't mean any discussions have been had — just the Celtics are trying to pry him from Larry Bird's Indiana hands.
FanBuzz's take
If we had to rank them in likelihood, we'd put Butler far ahead of George.
The starting point in conversations for George would likely be both Brooklyn picks (2017 and 2018) and even that isn't enough. Can Danny Ainge convince Bird that the Pacers have reached their ceiling with George and won't really be able to compete for a title? The Pacers are currently the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls are directly behind them at No. 7, but their taped together rebuild hasn't been the smoothest of transitions. Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade and Butler may be the moodiest backcourt in the NBA.
